Tekken: The Aftermath
by Laserwolf
Summary: Jin's life undergoes several mad twists. The other fighters aren't spared.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the rights to Tekken or any of its characters.

The events in this tale occur somewhere in the time frame of Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion, but do not strictly adhere to its storyline (It's a fanfic, after all). I made a few modifications, such as renaming Mishima Zaibatsu to Kazama Zaibatsu; I felt that Jin, even as a bad guy, would be hateful of everything named Mishima and thereby use the Kazama title of Jun's bloodline (He definitely still loves his mother). Also, I decided to be a bit liberal with the characters' fighting styles.

**Plot**: Jin's already crazy life takes an even madder twist, and chaos and lunacy ensues for everybody else.

**TEKKEN: THE AFTERMATH**

CHAPTER 1 – LILI AND JIN'S DATE

Jin studied the surroundings. Broken walls, crumbling statues, peeling plaster, dusty floors, weeds everywhere, and no roof, just rotted beams. He assumed that this was once a huge and beautiful mansion in its heyday. Now, it was just a forgotten statistic amid sad infrastructure… and soon to be a duel ground.

The previous night, back at his office, as he studied the schematics of the latest Kazama Zaibatsu tank per request of his military advisors, he received a call directly on his cell phone. The number was indicated as private, but this was nothing surprising- one such call had occurred a week earlier, filled with drunken insults and threats of bodily damage. That was Hwoarang. This time…

"Yes?" Jin asked.

"You and me, by the abandoned Elite Zone, Old Estates area," replied a female voice.

"Who are you? How did you get this number?" Jin queried, irritation building.

"I have my resources, too," the lady responded, sounding as if she was about to giggle. "Nevertheless, it is imperative we meet. Understood?"

Jin could not believe her tone. Did this fool have a clue as to who he was; he who now headed the world's most thriving corporation, and he who was commander-in-chief of the most advanced army on Earth?

"Are you giving me conditions?" Jin questioned. "Do you think I have time for prank calls?"

"I'm no prankster, Jin Kazama."

Jin let out a short, sarcastic laugh. "You know, if my intelligence sources get a fix on you, all I need do is make a call or press a button from any number of miles away…Ever experienced a sniping or an air strike?"

"You could have done that yesterday…if security had alerted you to the fact that you had an intruder in your office when you went out to lunch…Oh, that's right- your intelligence has no _intelligence_…As for your personnel…What's her name…Nina? Well, she made some impressive effort. Check your office bathroom."

Jin got up, looking out beyond the windows of his skyscraper office, imagining that he was being monitored from a nearby building.

The lady giggled. "Really, take a look. See the crimson smudge by the door handle? That's my lipstick, even though I'm not a fan of the stuff."

Jin walked over to the bathroom door. What was that smear? Was it?…It was! Lipstick!

"See? Told you!" the lady chuckled. "Why don't you take a look inside?"

He did so. What he saw forced his eyes to widen with disbelief.

Lying in the bathtub, arms and legs bound, was Nina, unconscious. But she looked different…Normally, she donned an executive suit, and she looked smart. Now… her hair was frizzed and tinted red; her eyelids were painted violet, cheeks dubbed rose, and her lips were overdone with heavy blue lipstick. Worse enough, there was a baby's bib sticking out of her mouth. A spiked collar adorned her neck, and her upper half was covered in a gothic waistcoat with roughly cut-off sleeves. Beneath that was a rather short tank top that clung tightly to her chest (He had to induce Mental Alertness in order not to be entranced by her knockers). Her lower half was covered in a plaid skirt, long white stockings, and black platforms.

_Man she looks horrible…in a hot kind of way, though_, Jin mused.

He proceeded to untie Nina, shaking her to wake up.

"What...what happened?" Nina asked drowsily as she opened her eyes and regarded him. Then she made a sudden frown. "That bitch! I'll…"

"Not now," Jin said, standing her up. "Go get yourself cleaned up. Your outfit is ridiculous."

Nina checked herself out, frown growing by the seconds. As Jin headed back to his office, she rushed to the bathroom mirror. Nina screamed just as Jin shut the door behind him.

"Well?" came the caller's voice.

Jin sighed as he sat back down, grabbing a glass tumbler and wine bottle from one of the drawers of his desk. He filled the entire glass.

"Fine, I'll give you credit for breaking into my building. Guess you deserve a meeting after all," he said.

"Thank you for your consideration," said the caller, giggling. "It's a date."

Jin downed the whole glass in one angry gulp.

"By the way," the lady added before hanging up, "we've just had our first kiss. Hee! Hee!"

Jin wondered what she meant. The he saw lipstick around the circumference of the tumbler, where his lips had been.

Rage exploded within. The tumbler shattered in his grip. His teeth nashed.

A few moments later, a winged figure crashed and flew out of the topmost window of the Kazama Zaibatsu headquarters, roaring with fury.

Somewhere near a busy intersection, at a mobile stall, Marshall Law was trying to coax Steve Fox, Paul Phoenix, and Lei Wulong to try a new recipe of hotdogs.

"Come on, just one bite, guys," Law pleaded.

Paul held a hotdog to his mouth, lips quivering with distrust. Steve merely stared at the one on his paper plate. Lei looked away, trying not to show that the smell of the stuff sickened him.

A sudden, powerful gust of wind assaulted them, overturning the stall and knocking down the guys. The food lay scattered all over the ground.

Law stared at the remains of his stall, head in his hands, jaw dropped with shock.

Steve leaned over to Paul and whispered, "At least we have an excuse for takeaway now."

**Now**

"What happened to your black leather jacket and pants?" asked the female voice from before, coming from somewhere behind one of the ruined statues.

Jin spun, trying to locate her. He was also reminded of why he was currently wearing the blue hooded sweatshirt, blue sports pants, plus red sneakers; his transformation into Devil mode had ripped up his previous clothing, so he had to rush home and change gear. That ticked him off, too.

"Here I am", she said from somewhere close.

He finally saw her approaching from up ahead. She was blonde, with long hair that fell slightly below her shoulders. Her face was young and cute, with blue eyes and a creamy complexion. She wore white gloves, a short one- piece white dress with frills, and white knee-high boots.

"Emilie Rochefort," she introduced herself. "But you can call me Lili."

Jin couldn't believe it. _She_ was the one who set up this meeting? This juvenile fool?

"What do you want?" he asked.

"You."

He rested his hands in his sweatshirt's pockets. He could take it easy now. He had expected someone mature, possibly a military commander or CEO, but this Lili…What a fool she was. She was clearly ignorant of world affairs, and his role in them. He was glad he hadn't called for backup from his heavies; this affair would be quite short and unimportant.

"I'm going home," Jin said, sighing and smiling. "I suggest you do the same and return to your dollhouse."

Lili clenched her fists at her sides as he turned to go. "Wait! I'll fight you if I have to!"

Jin looked at her, amused.

"You think I don't know you? Huh?" Lili cried. "It's you who doesn't know me! I'll repeat: I am Emilie Rochefort, and I'm a go-getter!"

Jin replied: "So how about you go get some dolls. What's your preference, the porcelain or ragdoll variety?"

He even laughed. He actually seemed to be loosening up.

Lili took another step forwards. "You will NOT turn me down!"

"Watch me," Jin said, turning to go away once again.

"You know what?" Lili shouted after him. "I think you're a coward. You're actually afraid to fight a tough-but- pretty girl…and lose. The mighty Jin Kazama is a sissy!"

Jin faced her, wondering why he was even giving her any time when he could have been lounging at a hotel somewhere or duking it out with a punching bag at his gymnasium.

"Tough? Pretty?" he uttered. "Ever met Ling Xiaoyou? Now she's tough, and really pr-"

"Oh?" Lili responded, trying not to shake with rage. Then she smiled and said, "So how come you're checking me out right now?"

"What?"

"Awww, I know you are, Jinny-pooh! I mean, how you can not check out my legs for starters? I saw you!"

That part was true. So what? How many times had he looked at lovely ladies and ignored them? It was no different from reading those magazines featuring Christie Monteiro in a bikini on the covers. Simple reflex, that's all.

"You know, I actually think you like me, even a little bit," Lili continued, hands behind her back, one foot scuffing away playfully at the ground. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have stayed here this long…"

She continued chattering away. Jin merely closed his eyes and dropped his arms at his sides, trying to slip away mentally, trying to forget how he had allowed this crazy girl to waste his time and nearly manipulate him. It almost worked.

In that amount of time he had shut himself off, Lili had come even closer to Jin- so close that her lips were only fractions of millimetres apart from his, and he felt her sweet strawberry breath on his mouth as she whispered this: "You look sooo sexy!"

That was when he snapped.

Jin suddenly moved forward in a short burst, getting down on one knee as he shot out his left punch and retracted it with lightning speed. Lili twirled away just in time, but was not spared from the missed blow's gust of force as it rushed past her midriff and flipped her skirt slightly.

"Ooh, you want a peek?" she squeaked, smiling slyly.

Jin almost cursed. That blow was one of his sure win techniques; it was devastating when it connected. And he missed.

Due to the energy Jin had expended with his attack, he was slow to defend himself when Lili quickly grabbed him, flipped right over his head and behind him, and struck him with her butt. He stumbled and fell flat on his face.

As he rolled over to look at her, she just stood there and waved.

"Like my ass?" she quizzed. "Tight, right?"

He got up and ran to her, letting off a short flying kick, which she ducked. Jin then threw a right hook, followed by a chop with the same hand, then a kick with his left leg, all of which she blocked. He then performed a wide roundhouse, which she dodged as she swept him off his feet with a light tap of her boot against his supporting leg.

Jin crashed onto his back, but quickly flipped back to his feet. He rubbed the back of his head. Honestly, he felt not just a headache building up, but also a hint of dizziness.

"I've got some panadol or aspirin for that," Lili said.

He feigned a fainting motion, prompting her to rush to him. As she closed in, he twirled and let her have it with a roundhouse that cut deep into her ribs, sending her flying backwards. She hit the floor with her shoulders, sending up clouds of dust.

As Jin followed her, he unleashed his heavy axe kick. However, it merely smashed the ageing concrete as Lili had quickly recovered and rolled away. Again, he was slow to react when she lunged at him with a punch to his face. Jin staggered backwards, head thrown back. His hood fell back.

"Awww, such a handsome face!" she teased. "Why hide it?"

The dust that rose was a lot more than one could have expected from a fight. Then again, the fighters were far from ordinary. At this point, Jin was struggling to see through it.

Lili abruptly appeared before him. He was fast this time, grabbing her and throwing her over with a hip toss. As she hit the floor, he plunged his right fist at her. Again, she rolled away, witnessing his fist plow into the floor with a force so massive that it pumped up chunks and pieces of cement.

For a moment, Lili looked unsure of herself, afraid of what this beast of a martial artist could do. Jin found that satisfying as he walked towards her slowly, watching her back away until she stopped in front of a disfigured statue.

Was that a statue of Heihachi? Anyway, he didn't care.

He moved backwards as he executed another type of Mental Alertness. Lili moved towards him, obviously thinking he was about to perform a slow move. He took off like a rocket with a very sudden flying kick. Lili dropped low just in time, watching as he missed and struck the statue.

There was a deafening cracking sound, followed by the monument's demise as it exploded into uncountable fragments. Jin was too late to see the statue's liberated head come hurtling down to him. Its head cracked in two against his skull, and he dropped to one knee, grunting as he held his head.

Now he really felt dazed. Still, he couldn't lose, not like this, not to her.

_Must transform_, he thought frantically. _Got to transform into…Devil mode… _

But he was fading.

He felt Lili's hands holding his face. She was smiling fondly.

"Jin," she said softly.

Then she unleashed her back somersault kick into his head.

The rest happened like slow motion. As Jin lifted off the ground, he saw past the rotting beams of the ruins. He saw the sky and clouds. He saw a giant passenger plane far off, unaware that Ling Xiaoyou was on it, drinking tea and chatting with Asuka. He saw birds fly by across the glare of the sun. Then he saw the upside down floor rush to meet him.

SLAM! He was out cold.

Lili let out a great whoosh of relief from her lungs. She stood beside Jin, grinning as she produced her cell phone.

"Sebastian, bring in the limo. We're having a guest tonight."

**Later **

Jin lay motionless on Lili's giant bed. Lili stood before him, surveying his physique. He was huge and very well built, that was for sure. He was cute, too. She especially loved the way those strands of hair fell over his forehead and eyes.

In one hand, she held a small bowl of fresh water with a cloth floating in it. It was meant for the streak of blood that had now dried across a portion of his forehead.

"Ooh, really sorry about that," she said tenderly, and proceeded to wring the cloth before applying it to his forehead, lovingly cleaning the blood away.

When she was done, Lili took another look at Jin's body. She grinned.

Next, she carefully and slowly sat astride his torso, having taken off her boots. She got hold of his sweatshirt's zipper and pulled it down to reveal his hardened abs and powerful chest. This delighted her.

Lili then began caressing his upper body with her palm, running her fingers delicately across his skin here and there. She lay her head down on his chest for a moment, then brought her lips to his forehead, kissing him once for what could have been at least ten seconds. After that, she licked her lips and planted them on his once, twice, three times…Each instance was longer than the previous one.

She kissed his mouth, his cheeks, his eyelids, his neck. She did it with possessiveness, but also with genuine passion, the kind emanating from a girl who had wanted something that had until now been elusive.

And that was how the night progressed.

"I love you, Jin," Lili said when she finally fell asleep beside him.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

**TEKKEN : THE AFTERMATH**

**CHAPTER 2: ROSE TINTED MADNESS**

Jin's eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the initial haze that gradually took form of a cream coloured ceiling. He sat up after a few seconds of disorientation, trying to make sense of where he was, while at the same time attempting to remember what had happened to him.

Then he saw them.

Dolls. They were everywhere. Ceramic, clay, rag, straw…. All sorts, lining the shelves around the room. They sat by the windows, on the carpet, by the pillows of the giant bed he had been lying in. And they seemed to be staring at him from every direction.

"N…Nanda?" he stammered, eyes wide open, backing up on the bed till he reached the headboard.

What the hell was this?

Then the actual thought of these nightmarish playthings triggered the return of his memory in two waves. First was the imagery of Lili. Second was that of his humiliating and rather unnecessary defeat at her hands.

His heartbeat slowed down, then shot back up as fury began to surface.

That he had lost to a girl was utterly embarrassing and unacceptable. Inconceivable. That he had lost to Lili, of all girls, was even worse. How could that have happened? He had used almost all of his devastating attacks, and all she did was dodge and block till he, more or less, KO'd himself. Well, she did deliver the finishing move, but only because he had helped damage himself with that stupid statue. In other words, she had manipulated him in every way, from calling him to a battleground of her choice to making him angry enough to lose focus and the fight. It enraged him.

Jin clambered out of bed. Doing so, he noticed something else. It was even more horrifying than this room's décor.

He was clad in pink, frilly-ended pyjamas.

"Eh?" he cried out. He remained still, stunned at this embarrassing attire. To him, it was beyond an evil even he could contemplate.

Wondering how bad it could get, he tugged at the elastic waistband of his pyjama bottoms, pulling outwards. It was indeed bad; he was wearing pink and frilly boxers.

"What the hell!" he roared, one hand partially covering his face, disbelieving eyes peering between the fingers.

A female voice piped in: "I see you're wide awake now. How're you feeling now?"

It was Lili, sitting on a chair in a corner not too far from the bed's headboard. She was dressed in her sports vest, track bottoms, and sneakers. She was cuddling a panda teddy.

Jin turned to face her, silent, but obviously fuming, as anyone would have judged by his clenched and quivering fists.

Lili seemed oblivious to his state of mind, as she cheerfully said, "Ah, I see you are feeling quite better. In fact, it would appear that you are quite lively!"

That was when it happened. Something familiar. Something metaphysically insane and powerful. It was a dark transformation erupting from deep within his schism-ravaged core, corruscating through his every cell, infecting his bloodstream, eating at his nervous system; it was something he would have otherwise restrained at an earlier stage. He was morphing into his Devil form.

Jin hunched forward as huge black wings sprouted from his back, tearing through the fabric of his pyjama top. He clutched the sides of his head as two horns shot out of his temples, bursting through the bandage Lili had placed. A purple electric sizzle surrounded him as all this happened, and he let out a demonic roar.

"Kyoufu wo oshiete yarou!"

Now Devil Jin was here.

Then he, too, froze.

"Nani?" he gasped, staring at his ghastly outfit. Even in Devil form, he was still in pink pyjamas!

Neither Jin nor Devil Jin was sure about the complete extent of his demonic powers. Sometimes, upon transformation, he'd be clad in torn up clothing due to the metamorphosis. Other times, he'd end up either half naked or in his dual-coloured pants and boots. But to see that he was in these sissy pyjamas was truly inexplicable. Were they made of some material that was resistant to his pyrokinetics?

Devil Jin raised his head to the ceiling and cried out in disgust and humiliation.

Once again, he was slow to realise that Lili was within very close proximity. By the time he had finished his roar and looked back down, her hands were on either side of his face.

"I don't care what you look like, dark persona or none. You're still so sexy and adorable," she said, planting a slow, wet kiss on his mouth, tongue sliding between his lips.

At first, Devil Jin attempted a mumble of confusion. Next, his widened eyes relaxed, then closed. The horns began to retract, and his wings retreated into his back. In a matter of seconds, he was back to being regular Jin, dazed, disoriented, and sliding weakly down the curve of her bosom. Pleasantly surprised, Lili reached under his arms to stop him from hitting the floor. She slowly brought herself down to her knees in a bid to support his weight, cuddling him, stroking his hair.

"What... what happened?" Jin asked no one in particular, momentarily baffled.

"There, there," Lili cooed, rocking him.

That brought him back to his senses; that and the awareness of being pressed into her breasts. He tried pulling back suddenly, but she held on and pressed even harder. They struggled for a few seconds until he managed to break away and yank her off, nearly dropping on his back as he did so.

"You... you..." he stuttered. "Damn, you're crazy!"

She just giggled as she remained sitting on the floor.

He quickly got up and made for the door. No way in hell would he be treated like some stuffed animal in a doll-infested prison.

Jin turned the door knob and pulled. It didn't budge. He pushed. Nothing. He paused, closed his eyes, and began to relax his breathing, meditating to create a focus of energy residing in his right fist. Several moments later, he struck the door with the same fist. All he got was a dull thud and a wave of pain running up his knuckles.

"Sorry, it's reinforced, and only I have the key" Lili chimed, standing up. She tugged at the neckline of her vest, close to her cleavage, and added, "Wanna look for it?"

Jin sighed and passed his hand over his face. This unbelievable madness would take a while.

**Kazama Zaibatsu**

Evening was approaching. The Zaibatsu staff had begun shuffling out of the headquarters, intent on hitting the clubs or just going home. Everybody was knocking off. Everyone except Nina.

Nina was still locked away in the bathroom of Jin's office, afraid of exposing her ghastly image. No way in hell would she be seen looking so stupid and silly. The bitch who had given her this evil makeover... she would pay heavily... especially for the hair. As for how Nina would get around in public, even in the dark, looking like this... Well, she hadn't yet figured it out.

Finally, when she was sure that the general silence of the building meant that everyone had knocked off, she decided to calmly walk out of Jin's bathroom.

His office was littered with broken glass and fluttering papers. She saw why immediately- one of the panes was shattered, and the wind had casually helped itself to frolicking with the lighter office items. Nina sighed; it looked like Jin had lost his temper again, so someone would have to call in the cleaners and some glass repair people... again.

That could wait a few hours more. Right now, what was most important was that Nina could exit the building without encountering anyone. She was wrong. She had no idea that, two floors below, a huge and tall Russian Special Forces operative was sneaking about in the corridors.

The lights suddenly went out. A few seconds later, they came back on.

Sergei Dragunov, clad in his Spetsnaz combat gear and wielding an automatic pistol, stealthily and quickly made his way to an elevator. He had already disabled the lights and cameras from the central circuit box in the basement of the building, and it would be another bunch of hours or so before anyone figured out what the problem was.

Just a few hours earlier, he had received word from an informant from within the Zaibatsu, known only as Koji, that Jin Kazama was present in the building, studying some military technology. Koji said that Jin had been scheduled to meet with some of his scientists in the evening, and was therefore likely to be at the headquarters all day.

That information provided conditions for both optimism and opportunity concerning Dragunov's mission; the apprehending and covert extradition of Jin Kazama.

His superiors had stressed the importance of bringing Jin in alive. Jin's activities had caused tremendous unrest back in the Motherland. Since diplomacy and negotiations had failed to yield a withdrawal of Tekken militants from Russia, another option would be to capture and threaten Jin into calling off his soldiers. This would eventually lead to the Zaibatsu suspending its wartime activities worldwide.

The elevator doors opened, and Dragunov stepped in. Next stop, Jin's office.

Nina was a few steps away from the elevator when its doors began to open. She sprinted back down the corridor to Jin's office, hiding behind the leaves of a tall potted plant along the way just in time. Who the hell was still here at this time? The scientists? They weren't due in another two hours.

Then she saw a man in military clothing stepping out of the elevator. He was brandishing a pistol.

"Spetsnaz," she whispered. In all her years of espionage, she had come to being quite familiar with combat gear.

"This is bad," she told herself.

Her hand felt around the curve of the pot, near the bottom. She pushed her thumb into a smudge. The spot she touched retreated in the form of a now visible small panel, which she lifted while her other hand ventured into the pot and pulled out a small machine gun. She wasn't Jin's security advisor for nothing.

Dragunov quickly surveyed the corridor. He was surprised that the lights were on here, but he assumed that this particular area must have had a backup power supply; it made sense, considering that this was where the office of one of the world's most powerful men was located. Along one side of the corridor was a long stretch of glass through which one could see the city and its distant horizon. On the other side, a little far down, there was a potted plant with giant leaves. Somewhere down here was Jin's office, according to what Koji had said, and Dragunov would find it.

He felt a slight breeze brush past from up ahead. There was a sound of fluttering papers somewhere. A page from some magazine came flying in from a hidden corner, landing at Sergei's feet. The picture on the page was a full blow-up of Christie Monteiro cupping her boobs and wearing a very skimpy yellow bikini. For a moment, Dragunov got detached from his objective. He knelt to pick up the page.

That same moment, Nina opened fire with a short burst from her gun.

Above the Zaibatsu headquarters, a helicopter hovered. Inside it, in the passenger section, a man sporting shades and an x-shaped scar across his face, and peroxide white hair, sat ogling the double page spread of Scant Magazine's latest pinup girl, Christie Monteiro.

"Yeah, baby, you know what time it is," he said in a deep bass voice, licking his lips. "Christie, you are just so damn fine! Mmm-hmm, somebody's gotta tap that ass!"

Attention, Raven," came the pilot's voice. "We are directly above the drop-off point."

Raven continued staring at Christie's saucy picture.

"Raven!" the pilot screamed.

Raven snapped back to reality. He stared out of the chopper, at the rooftop of the Zaibatsu. This was his cue.

He jumped out, arms at his sides, legs together, sailing downward like a needle.

Raven's objective: The capture of Jin Kazama.

Dragunov heard the shots and felt the bullets flash over his head just as he picked up the page from the floor. In less than an instant, he whipped out his pistol and opened fire directly in front of him. His attacker returned fire, and it was then that he realised that whoever it was happened to be behind the tree up ahead.

Dropping flat on the floor, he let off a blast into the tree's pot, which immediately exploded in a shower of dust and clay, just as his attacker dived away and into full view in the corridor.

Nina got up, gun aimed at Dragunov. Dragunov rose, gun aimed at Nina. At the last moment, as either began to pull their trigger, an apparition of sorts teleported through the ceiling with a somersault and landed on its feet directly between the two.

It was Raven, who had split milliseconds to grasp what was going on before a hail of automatic rounds from two opposite directions blazed at him.

"Whoa!" Raven roared, momentarily dematerialising to let the bullets whoosh past where he had just been.

Dragunov's brow twitched. He knew this pain-in-the-ass ninja bastard.

Nina's eyes simply widened with a mix of confusion and disbelief.

There was a moment of silence and inactivity as each person stared from one to the other.

Raven could not make out exactly what Nina was wearing, but it was horrifically comedic, and it tickled him. His shoulders began to heave up and down, then his head fell back as he laughed uncontrollably, finger pointing at Nina.

At first, Nina could not understand what was so funny, but Raven's finger did all the telling. She felt anger and shame accumulating, and hugged herself as if she were naked.

Dragunov, having seen Nina clearly now, began to grin, arms folded. Then he snorted with amusement. She really did look funny, especially for a woman who had tried to kill him.

This went on for a good half minute or so. In her rage, Nina was about to draw her gun again.

A deafening sound of rotor blades hit the air, and a powerful light illuminated the panes from outside. A helicopter.

Blaring from a loudspeaker from the chopper, a female voice yelled, "Damn, sis! You look grotesque! The Zaibatsu must not be too picky about its employees nowadays!"

Nina recognised the voice as that of her sister Anna, and her fury went up a notch further. Could this day get any worse?

The chopper angled a little closer. Sitting by its open hatch was a woman in a red Oriental dress... and she was holding a rocket launcher aimed at all three individuals in the corridor.

Anna blew her sister a kiss, then opened fire.

Dragunov dashed back into the elevator. Nina sprinted towards Jin's office. Raven teleported.

Hot white and yellow light tore up the sky, coupled with a savagely loud explosive rumble. The corridor disappeared completely.

Anna smiled. Her chopper left.

**Elsewhere**

A motorbike carrying two people pulled up outside Paul Phoenix's crappy shack of a house. The bike was Paul's, but its rider was Hwoarang, and his passenger was Julia.

Hwoarang had borrowed Paul's bike to pick up Julia from her lab. It had been a pain getting Paul to agree to lend his motorcycle, but, in the end, Hwoarang had convinced him that it was for a good cause; Julia would be impressed that Hwoarang had come to pick her from work on this cool machine... so impressed that it would lead to him getting laid. However, things didn't go according to plan; he ended up spending several hours staring at boring test tubes and listening to crap about plants and how they would save the world some day. But, as things seemed to get even duller, Julia suggested that they go out for pizza, then head over to Hwoarang's place (which was, of course, Paul's). Looked like he would get lucky after all!

As Hwoarang put his key into the door's keyhole, he turned to stare at Julia in her tribal top, short denim skirt, and boots. Damn she looked hot! He was so excited that he failed to unlock the door for the first few seconds, eyes locked on her. Julia noticed and smiled foxily.

He began humming some song: "I've got a feeling... that tonight's gonna be a good night... that tonight's gonna be a good night..."

Seconds later, they were in the living room, all over each other, ending up on the coffee table. She kissed him deeply on the mouth, then threw her head back and sighed as he planted his lips on her neck and worked his way down to her cleavage.

Someone else entered the room.

"You do know I eat on that table, right?" said the third person.

Hwoarang and Julia gasped and rolled off the table, crashing on to the floor. The newcomer was none other than Paul with his long hair finally let down to his shoulders, wearing a black T-shirt over jeans and black boots, holding a wrench in one hand, and a beer can in the other.

"You eat on that table? Gross!" Julia said.

Paul was stunned. "What? My eating's gross? Compared to you two doing it on my table?"

"Considering what you eat, yeah!" she responded.

"Why you..."

Hwoarang quickly stepped in. "Time out!"

Paul settled down in front of the television and switched it on, then opened his can and took a few sips.

Giving Paul the mean look, Julia asked to use the bathroom. Hwoarang pointed it out to her.

Paul grinned and drank some more, then gave a thumbs up and said, "Dude! So the bike will get you laid! Wonder why I never thought of that before?"

That was when Julia returned to the room. Judging by the look on her face, she had heard it all. Paul cupped his mouth and looked away. Hwoarang froze.

"Well?" she asked, arms folded. "Was the bike a gimmick to get into my panties?"

Hwoarang was silent, sweat breaking over his face.

"You're disgusting!" she yelled, disappearing into the adjoining corridor, followed by him as he frantically tried to come up with an excuse. Loud expletives dominated the corridor.

Paul continued watching the TV, sipping away. What could he do?

Moments later, Steve walked in, looking past his shoulder as he entered the room. "What the hell's up with those two?" he asked.

From the corridor came Hwoarang's voice: "But... but... What's wrong with that? You were in the mood, too!"

"We were just making out!" Julia replied. "What makes you think I was planning to do it there?"

"The skirt!"

"I wear it for combat, too, you moron!"

"And it still turns me on!"

"You disgusting fool!"

Paul turned to Steve and said, "You don't wanna know."

They sat there, watching TV as the lovers' quarrel raged on in the corridor.

"By the way, Asuka and Ling are back," Steve said, looking very happy. "Told them to pass by. Hope that's cool with you."

"As long as they're bringing more beer, it's all good," Paul said.

Steve chuckled.

A few minutes later, Marshall arrived, carrying a large paper bag. "What's going on out there?" he asked.

"You don't know wanna know," Steve said.

Marshall paused for a bit, then said, "Good news, guys! I'm opening my new joint tomorrow!"

"Yeah?" Paul asked. "Cool."

"And... to celebrate," he added, rummaging through the paper bag, "I've cooked up my Marshall Pizza Special! Let's dig in!"

The smell emanating from the bag killed any latent enthusiasm.

"You've got to be kidding!" Paul said, shrinking in his seat.

Steve ran out of the house to puke. Hwoarang and Julia cursed out at the odour.

Outdoors, Steve had finished vomiting, and was now washing his mouth under the lawn tap. After this, he headed back to the door.

"Excuse me, sir," came a young female voice from behind, just as he reached the door.

He turned to see a youthful, slender girl with pink hair, wearing some kind of dark hotpants under a flowing violet dress, and with white gloves and boots.

"Hey, there. Can I help you?" he responded.

"Please, sir, I'm looking for a place to stay."

"Whoa! I'd love to help you out, but... Have you tried checking into a motel?"

She came closer. "Please, sir. I'll do anything. I just need a few days of lodging."

"Sorry, miss... I don't even own this..."

She suddenly grabbed his head and yanked his face towards hers, firmly planting her lips on his. He uttered a stifled gasp of surprise, and was genuinely shocked at how physically strong she appeared to be. He could also swear that he felt a sort of fuzziness, a kind of vibration, like an electric current, running into his lips.

She finally let him go, leaving him stunned.

"Steve!" shouted another female, from somewhere behind this girl. It was Asuka, emerging from a taxi with Xiaoyou.

"Oh, shit!" Steve exclaimed.

"Steve?" came a multitude of voices behind him. Everyone in the house had seen that, too.

"This is what you've been getting up to?" Asuka screamed, eyes beginning to moisten, fists starting to shake. "I leave you alone for one week and you're already macking on another girl?"

"Oh, shit!" he said again. "No, Asuka, listen... It's not what you think... I..."

Too late. Asuka charged towards him, screaming out her battle cry.

**The City**

In the darkness of an alley, Dragunov sat behind a dumpster. He was making a radio call to Koji, who would have to explain how he neglected to mention Jin's apparent absence, and his security detail.

"Yo, Sergei!" came Koji's voice on the other end. He sounded drunk, and there was loud music playing in the background, coupled with female chuckles. "Man... You should check out the tits and ass at this club! Woo! I'm swimming in booty, man! Go shawty... It's my birthday..."

"Durak!"* Dragunov hissed.

**The Rochefort Mansion**

In an attempt to feign obedience whilst looking for possibility of escape, Jin had gone along with most of Lili's coercions that day. He had taken tea with her and her dolls. He had sat through her nightmarish karaoke sessions. He had tortured himself by partaking in table tennis and badminton, and had spent an immeasurable amount of time listening to poetry she had written. This girl was truly mad.

Now he sat at a long dinner table, opposite her. She had made him wear a white Chinese suit with a red dragon decal running along either arm; it looked somewhat cool, but he hated the idea of admitting it. She had fussed over him putting his gloves on, but had at last allowed him to wear them.

Lili, in her sexily skimpy, black cocktail outfit, stared at him fondly, resting her head on her hands, as Jin ate. He found this disturbing, like everything else about her, but had to secretly admit that at least he liked the meal.

"So," she started, "what are your plans after supper?"

Now how could she ask him that? Like he had a choice! Given the opportunity, he would have liked nothing more than to ditch this place, and probably return to wreck it with a bulldozer. Also, he would personally see to the destruction of her doll collection; he would have them incinerated as one huge pile. In fact, this last bit made him envision a smouldering mountain of those dolls, and he smiled devilishly at the thought.

"Well," he said, "I..."

That was when a high pitched whine interrupted, coming from somewhere outside.

He stopped to wonder what it was. Lili frowned.

Then the wall on one side of the table exploded with a rain of cement and dust, knocking them both off their chairs. Jin quickly rolled to his feet and looked at the gaping hole where the wall had been. Had rescue come?

A bunch of partially mechanical-looking troopers stormed in, wearing dark blue and black, futuristic, formfitting combat gear. He couldn't make out their faces as they were covered by blazing red goggles and mouthplates, and they carried no insignia that he knew of. In other words, they were not his people.

"Jin Kazama," said one of them, approaching him menacingly, "you're coming with us!"

"Not a chance in hell!" Lili shouted, jumping beside Jin, forming her fighting stance.

At this point in time, Jin would have no qualms about fighting alongside Lili. He raised his arms and spread his legs into the Shotokan stance.

"Bring it on," he said.

To be continued...

**Translations**

*_Durak_ = '_Fool'_ in Russian.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own the rights to Tekken or any of its characters.

**TEKKEN: THE AFTERMATH**

**CHAPTER 3: MOST WANTED**

The troopers attacked all at once, with a ferocity which clearly indicated how determined they were to apprehend Jin.

The leader darted forwards with a midair roundhouse, which Jin quickly ducked, giving him split time to respond with an uppercut which knocked the leader back and onto his head like a drunk. Within this moment of exchange, one of the other troopers came at Jin from behind with a flying kick, only to be heavily smacked out of the way by Lili's spiral dropkick.

"Thanks," Jin said, then stopped to ponder what he had just said. He had thanked her! No way! He shouldn't have.

Whatever the case, his words seemed to have had quite an impact on Lili, for she beamed for a moment and cheerfully said, "You're welcome!"

Another trooper made an attempt to grab Lili by the neck with both hands, startling her momentarily. Jin's ton-powered thrust kick sent him flying into his colleagues and right through the surviving section of the battered wall, creating a spill of bricks and a burst of dust.

Two more, one being the leader, came lunging at them. Lili flipped backwards, following up with a low sweep that took her attacker off his feet. Jin sidestepped, then began blocking a mixed onslaught of kicks and punches. Carefully timed, Jin parried the leader's heaviest blow so as to force him into a turn, then slammed his unprotected side with a lightning fast right hook which sent him right back through the hole in the wall, onto his earlier disposed-of comrades.

Jin looked at Lili. She looked back at him. Then they both rushed at the dazed and struggling heap of their foes, launching flying kicks simultaneously. The troopers were scattered across the yard like marbles.

Without warning, a massive shadow drifted across the combat area. Jin and Lili looked up to see a blimp silently gliding in. It was nowhere near as large as the commercial types, but it was big enough to cover at least half the mansion.

A ladder dangled out of it, and the humiliated attackers wasted no time in scurrying up and inside. The last guy, whom Lili had just taken care of back in the house, came out stumbling past her and Jin, head down. She slapped him harshly across the butt, and he immediately jerked to attention, running after the retreating blimp as he held his painful backside with both hands like a clown.

Silence.

With the blimp now a dot in the horizon, Lili asked, "Know those guys?"

Jin shook his head.

"Excuse me, madame," came the approaching Sebastian's voice from behind them, "but how shall we explain what just happened?"

Lili turned to regard the assaulted section of the mansion. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the degree of damage. She began to scream and scream and scream…

Jin cupped his ears.

**The Phoenix Household**

Asuka's punch had knocked Steve right past the door and into the corridor. She stood over him, bumping her fists together, seething, large jugs heaving up and down with her angry breaths.

"What… What the hell?" Steve whimpered, rubbing his jaw. From where he lay, Asuka's face kept disappearing and reappearing behind her heaving breasts.

Asuka was growling.

"Hey! _She_ came on to me! _She_ kissed me!" he emphasised.

"Really? And you just let her?" Asuka snarled.

"She's awfully strong!"

"Right! Just like when that Christie chick kissed you!"

"That was an autograph!"

"And when Xiao kissed you?"

"I hurt myself in the kitchen. She was kissing the pain away!"

"And when Julia kissed you?"

He couldn't come up with an answer.

"You kissed him?" Hwoarang asked, turning to Julia.

"Hey, it was truth or dare," Julia responded. "And, as I recall, it was Asuka's idea!"

"Quiet! Shut the hell up!" Asuka roared.

Steve tried sitting up, but Asuka's foot pressed him back down. "I haven't forgotten the current situation," she reminded him.

Now Asuka had taken notice of the pink-haired girl, whom she marched up to. Paul continued to sip his beer; he was enjoying this.

"I see that I've caused quite some discontent," the other girl said.

"And then some!" Asuka added.

"My apologies," the other girl said. "I didn't take into account the possibility of this scenario. Must make a provision for it in my data banks."

"What?" Asuka was beginning to think that this strange girl was either dim or insane.

"I was merely acting upon the data suggestions within my storage. According to various media interpretations online and offline, seduction often results in compliance."

"Huh?"

"Perhaps my actions were misdirected."

"Huh?"

The girl placed one hand on Asuka's bust, and began to undo her own top with the other. Paul, Steve, and Hwoarang were salivating at this sight, much to the disgust of the girls.

"You see, I'm looking for a place to stay," the pink-haired girl was saying, still undoing her top while drawing her lips closer and closer to a stunned Asuka's face, "so I should have spoken to the actual owner of the house. You are the owner, correct?"

Asuka jumped back. "No! Are you crazy?"

The guys sighed and yelled with disappointment.

"I swear, you guys have some sick fantasies!" Julia retorted.

"If you want the owner… talk to him!" Asuka said, pointing at Paul. Her mood had changed; all she wanted was to be far away from this girl right now.

Paul was now interested. "Hmm? Owner? That's me!"

The girl walked up to him.

"Yeah? What's up?" Paul asked, taking another swig from his bottle. "Name first."

"My name is Alisa," the girl said, performing a courtesy. "Allow me to take another shot at acquainting myself."

"Go on," Paul said, after a burp.

"I'm looking for a place to stay, just for a short while. I'm in desperate need of boarding facilities."

"Ever tried a motel?" Paul queried.

"I'll make it worth your while," Alisa said.

Paul's brow furrowed. "Huh?"

Alisa's limbs suddenly contorted, twisting and flipping, reversing and snapping, changing form, much to the utter shock of all around her. Seconds later, her left arm was a vacuum hose, and her right was an electric broom.

"What the f-" Marshall began, unable to finish.

Paul was impressed. "Cleaning, huh? You cook, too?"

"Anything," Alisa replied.

At this, Paul began to grin. A fantasy began to develop in his filthy mind.

_**Paul's Fantasy Sequence**_

'Shake Your Ass' by Mystikal is playing in the background.

Alisa, wearing nothing but a yellow bikini and coconut bra, prances around Paul's motorbike, using her machinery to soak and spray it with soap and water.

Paul, bare-chested and dressed in red shorts and sandals only, sits on a lawn chair, sipping beer, watching Alisa donk her booty.

Life is good.

**Back to the Phoenix Household**

Drool ran down Paul's lip.

"Hello? Paul? You there?" Julia asked, waving her arms in front of him.

He came back to reality. "Um, yeah… I've made my decision."

Marshall looked at him suspiciously. "Yeah? What is it?"

"She stays," Paul said.

Hwoarang nearly raised his hands to celebrate, but Julia saw him, eyes sternly piercing through his, so he glumly put his hands in his pockets and looked away.

"Paul? Are you crazy?" Asuka asked.

"I think she's cool," he said. "Besides, my place can benefit with some cleaning up."

"I assume your answer is an affirmative?" Alisa quizzed.

"Yup. Just one more thing… Can you make beer?"

Alisa grinned. "It's within my configurations, yes."

The other girls looked at each other and shook their heads.

Alisa turned to face the bushes lining the walkway and called out, "Lars! You can come out now! We've got a place!"

There was a brief rustling of leaves, and then a tall and large man emerged. He had crazy spiky hair and an outrageous black-and-red outfit consisting of armoured padding, a solid lion's head emblem on the chest, and a cape.

"Hold up!" Paul cried. "You didn't tell me you were bringing someone else!"

Alisa spun quickly and levitated towards Paul, catching him off guard as she grabbed his head and planted a deep electronic kiss on his lips. Once again, everyone was stunned, and the newcomer didn't seem too pleased, either.

Seconds later, Paul was drooling again. "Guess he can come, too," he said with an idiot's grin. "It's all good."

Everybody facepalmed themselves.

**A Train Station on the Outskirts of the City**

Leo slowly made his way off the bullet train. He didn't immediately move once out, but stood in place as he dug into the pocket of his satchel, fishing out a miniature book.

The book was his mother's diary, and it contained details necessary for him to get close enough to exact vengeance on Kazuya Mishima. Kazuya was quite elusive, and seldom made public appearances, so getting within kung fu striking range would be a challenge. To top it all, Leo wasn't too sure of how he would fare against him if he did manage to meet him in person, though he had considered spiking Kazuya's food or drink with laxative… Yeah, that would be something.

Nevertheless, his mother's entries mentioned several associates of Kazuya, most of whom were all over. One such person was a woman named Anna Williams. According to Leo's mum, Anna was a flirtatious, psychopathic, drunken harlot in charge of Kazuya's security detail, making Leo wonder how Kazuya entrusted his safety to such a crazy woman. The diary indicated that Anna was a regular patron at a particular tavern somewhere downtown. The place in question was named the G-Bar.

"I wonder if she's a stripper there?" he mused, mind drifting off to sounds and images of rowdy men around a table upon which Anna boogied and twirled in skimpy attire.

"Hentai-yaro!" shrieked a female voice in front of him. It was a schoolgirl whose skirt had flipped due to a gust of wind, and she mistook him for being mesmerised by her pink panties, especially since he was unblinking and developing a stupid grin whilst consumed by his question of Anna's striptease possibilities.

The girl landed a heavy slap across Leo's face, waking him from his daydream. She proceeded to castigate him further in Japanese, and soon a crowd began to build up around them.

"Scheisse!" Leo cursed. How could he have been so carried away with such a stupid thought and then wind up with another problem? He was supposed to be consumed by thoughts of revenge!

The moment a police officer emerged from the crowd, Leo sprinted out of the station as fast as he could, pursued by insults and flying shoes.

**Downtown**

Dragunov was irritated. So irritated. If he ever got within proximity of Koji…

Nevertheless, he had radioed his superiors shortly after the chopper attack, requesting a satellite trace on the chopper in question. Intel informed him that it had flown across the city and landed somewhere in the outskirts of the city, on a landing pad built over the rooftop of a questionable establishment called the 'G-Bar'. Dragunov figured that whoever the crazy lady riding the helicopter was, she might have valuable information regarding Jin, who was till nowhere in sight.

Now dressed in his elite uniform of authority, Dragunov cautiously-but-casually entered the G-Bar.

The place looked… ordinary. A bar counter and its attendant, several wooden circular tables and standard stools, a jukebox, drunken and dozing patrons- all the stuff you'd expect to find at a bar. There was something about the place's name, though… Something familiar. What was it with the letter 'G'?

He walked over to the bar counter and quietly sat down.

"What'll you have, sir?" the barman asked.

"Coke," Dragunov replied in a dry voice.

Once he began sipping his drink, Dragunov made sure to throw discreet glances around the joint, analysing and memorising each person, and also hoping to get a glimpse of the crazy woman he was looking for.

Then something odd caught his attention. A youngster had entered the establishment, and he looked completely out of place. Dragunov noted the young punk's satchel, short and wavy brown hair, the pretty boy baby face, and the totally white shirt, pants and shoes. What was the fool doing?

The boy came up to the barman, produced a photo from his pocket, and flashed it at the barman, who only gave it a stern stare. Dragunov got a fleeting look at the subject in the picture- the crazy woman! It looked like her, he was sure of it. Now his interest had been piqued further.

The boy took a look at Dragunov, as if contemplating whether or not to approach the menacing man, then walked away to sit at a vacant table somewhere behind. Dragunov continued sipping, marking the boy's position, not noticing the barman rushing to a nearby phone to make a call.

A few minutes later, when Dragunov was convinced that it was safe to approach the boy, as he tuned on his stool, the crazy woman appeared, standing right before the juvenile. This was too good! Two sources of information at one go!

That was when everything went to hell.

**The Rochefort Mansion**

Jin was still in his new attire, watching the quickly acquired construction crew patch up the damaged parts of Lili's home.

"Too many people know you, Jin," Lili said, standing beside him with Sebastian. "Honestly, it's not safe for you to be around here anymore. Watching over you like this will take its toll, that's for sure."

Jin couldn't believe his ears. Was she letting him go already? Had she finally realised that a guy like him, of global importance, was just way too big to handle? Perhaps she wasn't insane after all.

"Right, I'll be on my way," he said. "It's been fun, but I've got stuff to do. Cheers."

As he turned to find his way out, the familiar sound of a pistol clicking came from behind him, accompanied by a gentlemanly cough. He spun to see Sebastian aiming a gun at him.

"Oh, quite droll, sir," Sebastian said with snotty eloquence.

Lili snickered in that oblivious-to-reality manner which got on Jin's nerves. "Oh, Jinny-poo, you're just so funny!"

Lili cuddled around his arm and began to lead him away from the repair team.

"Um… Lili? I don't quite follow," Jin said.

"What I meant was that, if I have to protect you, I have to take you to some place they'd least likely expect to find you. Hee! Hee!"

"Like where?"

"Oh, I know just the place!" she said rather over-enthusiastically. "Meantime, it's off to your room for now. You need some rest."

The mention of the room brought back ugly memories of all those dolls and the really horrible pink pajamas.

"Please… Not that room again!" Jin pleaded. "Don't you have a cellar? A garage? Please!"

Lili continued to smile and giggle. "Now, now. I'm a lady, Jin, and a civilised one. I could never let you sleep in such conditions."

"Please… Can't I sleep elsewhere? Come on! I helped you out in battle! Doesn't that count for something?"

A sly grin came over Lili's face. "Well… There's always my room."

"Nnnnooooooo!..."

**Downtown, the G-Bar **

Leo recognised Anna instantly.

"Well, hello, pretty boy," she said in a semi-purr, standing only inches before him.

He wondered what to do. He hadn't expected to encounter her so fast; he'd hoped to surprise her before interrogating her. It was at this point that Leo realised that he had come all this way with absolutely no plan.

"You know, boy," Anna said, "you have such a lovely face. It's a shame to waste it so soon."

Leo was suddenly aware of the fact that he had been surrounded by a bunch of men in trooper gear which he'd seen in photographs his mother had left behind.

"Restrain him!" Anna ordered.

Before Leo could so much as think of striking, he was forced to stand by the troopers as they grabbed his arms and collar tightly.

Monitoring all this, Dragunov contemplated all possible outcomes of any action he took. This was a dilemma indeed. On one hand, there was the crazy woman; on the other, there was the boy. Both could be considered valuable. However, this joint was teeming with unfriendlies, and Dragunov wasn't in the mood for another firefight. What to do?

Anna caressed Leo's face and ran her gloved hand through his hair. "Most people who come looking for me aren't too smart. In fact, you'd have to be extra stupid to even consider coming over to the G-Bar in the first place!"

Leo was quiet.

"Honestly, what did you think the 'G' in G-Bar stood for?" she quizzed.

Leo grinned. "Gay?"

She slapped him across the left side of his face.

"Goofy?"

Another slap, across the right side.

"Geek?'

More slaps. Anna was mad now. "You dare mock me?"

Leo continued to smirk.

"The G's from G Corporation, nincompoop!" Anna hissed. That said, she planted a soft kiss on Leo's lips and added, "So long, pretty boy."

Just as Anna reached for the dagger tucked into her pantyhose, the main door of the place suddenly blew out into splinters as the rest of it hit the floor. The place fell silent, and everyone looked in the direction of the noise.

A huge, bare-chested man sporting silver hair, a lunatic's grin, bandolier and Gatling cannon stepped in slowly, artificial eyes scanning the area.

"Bryan Fury," Dragunov whispered, remembering the files he'd seen about the man.

Bryan's grin grew wider once the electronic crosshairs of his eyes locked on to Anna. "Babe, last night was great… But you took something of mine. I'd like it back, please."

Anna beamed at him wickedly and said, "I do remember leaving you a tip."

Bryan's grin transformed into a frightening scowl. "You call an engine coolant a tip? Woman, don't mock me!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Anna responded.

"You took some hardware of mine!"

"Hmm? Really?" Anna taunted, then turned to her enforcers. "Guys, you should see what he refers to as hardware… So obsolete… No wonder he hasn't been laid in years!"

The troopers broke out into heavy laughter everywhere across the place. Even the barman was laughing.

Bryan raised the Gatling gun in Anna's direction and cried out, "Bitch, I'll frag you for this!"

"Shit!" someone yelled just before Bryan let loose with a hail of bullets.

Anna ducked over one table, then acrobatically flipped over the others as the shots tore into the patrons. Leo drove a kick into one of his grabbers, then sent a heavy elbow into the solar plexus of the other guy, felling him instantly. The rest were mowed down by the gun as Leo rushed and skidded under a table elsewhere.

Dragunov heard a click followed by a blast from behind as a shotgun round whizzed past his ear and into Bryan's back. Bryan barely flinched. Instead, he calmly turned around and poured his Gatling rage into the bar counter, narrowly missing Dragunov, who cartwheeled off his seat and away from Bryan's sights.

With Bryan's back turned to him, Leo dashed out of his hiding spot and zigzagged his way to the insane mercenary, who stood between him and the only way out of this mad place. Closer, closer… Then Leo launched a flying kick. However, Bryan spun to see it and, in one motion, tossed the gun from his right to his left hand before driving his right fist into Leo's face as Leo's kick missed Bryan's head by mere hairs. Leo flew back and crashed through a set of tables and chairs, instantly KO'd.

Bryan took aim at his young victim. That was when Dragunov opened fire into the back of Bryan's head with the pistol he'd whipped out of its holster, distracting him. Bryan simply scratched the back of his head and turned, a look of amusement on his face. By then, Dragunov had already closed the distance between himself and the madman, surprising him with an avalanche-powered shoulder charge which knocked Bryan right off balance and into a backward headroll all the way to the jukebox.

Rushing to the kid, Dragunov saw that he was out cold. Slinging the boy's satchel over his own shoulder and carrying him under one arm, Dragunov pulled out an incendiary grenade strapped to his belt and hidden under his shirt, tossing it at the cyborg, who was now getting back up, and dived through the nearest window.

The G-Bar was torn up by a screeching blast that endowed it with a wave of merciless flame and nightmarish heat, showering the surrounding areas with ashen debris and flickering fragments.

Dragunov landed heavily on his shoulder, grunting as he did so, while Leo's unconscious body flopped right beside him. Dragunov exhaustedly dropped his head onto his forearms, gasping. Then, from the burning building, he heard Bryan's maniacal laughter.

As quickly as he could, Dragunov got up, hauled Leo over his shoulders, and disappeared.

A flaming cyborg zombie stepped out of the inferno, raised its arms to the heavens, and laughed insanely.

**The Phoenix Household**

Everybody was sitting around the dinner table. It was rather small to accommodate nine people, so everybody pretty much sat pressed against someone's arm or shoulder. The table was laden with a large plate of steaming grilled pork, baked potatoes, and salad sprinklings. Around it were dishes of crackers, sour cream, bread rolls, a pitcher of water and nine glasses.

Paul licked his lips and rubbed his hands gleefully. "Alisa, you rock!" he said.

Marshall frowned and humphed at that remark. "Even I could do that!"

Asuka smacked Steve's hand as he tried to pick a cracker.

Alisa turned to Lars and said, "See? I told you it would work! And we didn't have to use violence."

"Did you have to go on a kissing spree?" Lars lamented as he filled his glass with water.

"I'm sorry. Did you want to do it in my place?"

Lars gushed out his water on to Hwoarang, who sat beside him. "Hell no!"

Alisa smiled. "Alright, then. Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful hospitality, and for affording me this chance to show my culinary skills. Please, let's get started."

Paul's hands shot into the pork and ripped a chunk of it, which he crammed into his mouth, producing squishy and greasy sounds of munching, much to the disgust of Julia and Xiaoyou, who sat on either side.

Alisa maintained her robotic smile throughout dinner.

**The Next Day, in a Mountainside Forest**

As per her orders, Lili, Jin and Sebastian had been hiking uphill in some region unknown to Jin. What Jin did know, however, was that this place was on some island that Lili had hinted.

"Your idea of hiding me involves a forest?" Jin asked. "Even I could have thought of that. Not much of a brainer, if you ask me."

"Wrong," Lili responded, pointing at a stone path cutting into deep greenery ahead.

"What's that?" Jin queried, looking back to see if Sebastian still had his gun trained on him- he did.

"Follow me," Lili replied. "It'll take us to the man who's offered us asylum. He was most insistent when I spoke to him on the phone last night."

Jin was intrigued. Who on Earth could have honestly wanted to offer him asylum?

That question was answered when the trio reached the end of the path and arrived at some wooden cabin. They walked over to the side of this place, to a section with a sliding bamboo door that was open, revealing someone sitting on a cleared floor.

The person, whose back faced them, appeared to be meditating. He was a large man with a bald patch on top of his head, and thick, long sprouts of grey hair resembling an eagle's wing on either side. This latter feature brought instant recognition… and dismay to Jin.

"What the fuck? Heihachi?"

Heihachi turned and grinned. "Welcome."

To be continued…


End file.
